Yeah, so Armand and Daniel might be about to find out that they made a big mistake is slicing off Lestat and Louis heads…and not for the obvious reasons.
This show does not waste dialogue, and so, you must pay attention to what is said…even in background scenes.
Lestat has already told the audience via VO, and Daniel to his face that there is something wrong with Daniel’s blood and that’s why he needs antibodies. And you know who I think has been providing those antibodies and keeping Daniel’s vampiric body alive…Lestat. And I don’t think Daniel knows because Lestat has Fareed keeping it secret.
This is why they showed Fareed putting the little bandage on Lestat’s arm in episode 4 but strategically didn’t show us whether Lestat was giving or receiving blood. Most viewers likely assumed that he was getting blood since he previously said in episode 2 that was part of Fareed’s duties, but I think he was giving not receiving blood.
Later in the same episode, they have Daniel tell Lestat that he doesn’t need a “gift” from him, which was a strange response considering the conversation. Lestat did not imply that he was giving Daniel a gift and so his response didn’t really make sense. But when Daniel made that comment, I read Lestat’s expression as, “that’s what you think.” The writers put that gift line in Daniel’s mouth for a reason.
Daniel, the ace reporter has also not picked up on all the clues staring him in the face. Why not? Probably because of Memnoch, whom I think is in possession of Daniel. The Pulitzer Prize winner is no longer the talent he once was, or else he would have put together the clues by now.
He would at least have figured out that something was off. Instead, he fixated on Lestat’s stutter, which must be of interest to Memnoch for some reason. I wonder if he was present at the burning of the witches when Lestat stutter started.
I read Memnoch so long ago, and unlike the other books, I don’t think I finished it. For this reason, I don’t remember if there were hints of him being around Lestat when he was young or at the burning of the witches. I will have to go back and re-read before the next season, but if you know the answer, please share.
Memnoch encountering Lestat in the past would be an easy thing to script into the show and would be a way to connect Lestat to the Memnoch story without him being the one who has the dialogue or religious debate with the devil.
To me, the clues suggest that they will do the Memnoch story with Armand and Daniel. This works because of the gremlin’s religious fanaticism.
But back to what I mentioned at the top about the writers not wasting words. Daniel is so off his game that he didn’t pick up on the biggest clue they dropped—the reference to the ‘golden blood.” He didn’t pick up on it even though he was part of the two-way conversation.
What do I mean? Well, the show didn’t mention the Rh null blood type out of the blue…and to Daniel of all people for no reason.
Rh-null is nicknamed "golden blood," precisely because it's a universal donor for anyone with a rare Rh-null phenotype. Like Gabriella stated, there are only about 45 confirmed people alive with it. If the writers picked that blood type deliberately, and I think they did, it’s for a specific purpose.
I’m not a scientist and I don’t play one in real life, but I don’t think that it’s Armand’s blood that’s the issue or else, he would have experienced the same problem that Daniel is going through. Daniel’s is acerbated by the fact he has Parkinson, but Armand’s blood is not the issue.
The way I’m reading it is that if Armand had Rh null phenotype as a human, he would only have been able to get transfusion from the rarest of the rare…another Rh null donor.
Of course, they didn’t have blood transfusions 500 years ago, and so that part of it is moot. But if he did have Rh null and is able to drink from victims with other blood types, it would mean that becoming a vampire made the need for rh null blood no longer necessary. I tend to think that this is likely how it works.
However, my money is on Armand not being a rh null phenotype and him having one of the 8 primary blood types.
I suspect that whatever is causing the problem and what changed Daniel’s blood has to do with his Parkinson, having Armand share his vampiric blood with him over the years without turning him; and the entity possessing him. I think sometime during the three weeks after the events in Dubai and his turning on the plane over NJ, he was possessed. He was likely possessed before the turning.
I think his original blood type is AB Negative, the rarest of the primary 8 blood types. It’s why it’s his favorite. While it’s the rarest of the primary blood types, it still wouldn’t be a problem even with his Parkinson.
This suggests there is another reason for his problem, and I think that’s where his possession by Memnoch comes into play. The possession has introduced or converted his already vampiric enhanced human blood to rh null phenotype, or the show’s version of such. Him drinking regular human blood types isn’t working and is in fact causing more problems. This is why his vampiric powers are still so weak.
And yes, I know that Memnoch does not possess Lestat in the books, but possession does exist in the Anne Rice world and I think that this is the tack the show is taking.
While rh null is super rare as Gabriella said, only around 45 people in the world with that blood type, I bet on the show, there is one special vampire with that “golden blood” as rh null is called, and that is of course Lestat. And his blood is likely what is keeping Daniel’s vampiric body alive.
But now, Armand and Daniel have cut his and Louis’ heads off, and so I doubt that when Lestat gets his head back, he will be inclined to still provide Daniel with blood. And of course, Akasha will soon kidnap Lestat, and then his body will be taken by a thief and so even if he would be so inclined, he won’t be around to provide much transfusion. And lack of access to this rare blood could potentially be the reason for his horrible death.
That’s why I think Armand is bidding at the auction. He wants Lestat’s blood for Daniel. By this time, I think that Daniel has suffered his horrible death and so, the blood must be needed to somehow bring his spirit from Memnoch’s realm and putting him in a clone of his younger self. In a way, Daniel spirit will do to the clone of his younger self, what the Body Thief does to Lestat.
I previously considered the idea that Daniel’s horrible death was going to be at the hands of someone else…possibly an ancient. I even thought that he might already be dead, and we would see the event in flashbacks. I can’t totally rule that either possibility, but I’m now more incline to think that it will have something to do with his rh null blood and lack of access to Lestat’s “golden blood.”
